What's Your Opinion: How long does it take for a safety professional to become “seasoned”?

For anyone who thinks they can come right out of higher education with the necessary skills, guess again. 6-10 years is required to fully integrate education and experience to execute safety with an understanding of business needs to become a fully effective asset

I agree with the survey results, however, the survey doesn't separate those with a S&H undergrad from those with other Sci, Med, or Eng degrees. A certain Gov't agencyto be left un-named, feels that a nonH&S degree'd intern is ready to run alone with 2 yrs and multiple 1 week H&S courses. This is a dis-service to the intern and the people he/she are supporting. Those 6-10 yrs is what it takes to know everyone's job. How else can you understand the hazards and be able to address them? It's all about depth.

Great question! People love to shout out their years of service. My question is does years in make you the most qualified?

I chose 11-15 years because i believe that the safety professional should have some time in the field (10-12 years ) so the can see how things work in the real world and that will help them connect with the people they work with and for. then a couple years inside learning all the admin of safety . These thing together will help the Safety Professional become "seasoned "

Safety profession is a noble profession and is comparable with that of medical. A safety professional tries to avoid injuries by identification, advice and training. Initially, he will try to learn from theory and experience. In the process he will be confused which is right and which is not. Once, he gets experience, now he will be confident to say. However, he will get disheartened when there are no listeners as production gets preference over safety issues, though in long term safe production only leads to more productivity. Everybody wants immediate benefits. This leads to frustration. Eventually, he may shift his job or settles in the job with what best he can do.

I wholeheartedly agree with Dale Benner. 6-10 years just isn't quite enough to be seasoned. There are just too many things to learn in this field that those not in it fail to appreciate. The taxing job of really getting a grip on human and social psychology alone takes that long. Most will need 11-15 years to truly get it and be able to function effectively on a regular basis to maintain a sound safety foundation.

Years of service isn't as big a factor to being "seasoned", as exposure to the many facets of safety in the environment in which you are trying to affect safety. That being said maturity in and the ability to lead a safety culture can take a lifetime.

We all have a passion for Safety, especially if you have kids. What greater experience than that? Depending upon the age of your kids, you may carry up to 18 hard years of experience. So with that when you speak about safety, you speak from the heart.

I agree with the majority in this case. Of course you can be an enthusiastic, and effective Safety professional with less years experience, however I don't feel you can be called "seasoned" in less than six. I draw this conclusion, ( as so many others here have mentioned ) because although it is a noble job, it is often thankless and filled with frustration, until you can grasp that, deal with it head on, again and again for years, you will never fully understand the politics required to be successful at it.

I voted 6-10 and still have some reservations at 25 years I am still becoming seasoned every day,fir this poll i will say the individual and their work ethic along with being a person who has wide variety of natural abilities from the understanding and ability to work and communicate as well with the janitor as he/she does the CEO to of course analytic ability that must come naturally. I have found that one can learn people skills and the others skills needed but if you do not have natural analytic ability you will never become "seasoned" I know we have all met that one person with all the degrees and an alphabet of initials on the resume that can walk by numerous hazards and never see them, it is not their fault some just think more in the present, they make excellent accountants. I will probably get some grief for being so harsh but in my experience analytic ability is #1. GREAT topic

There is a combination of things, time in the profession alone does not "season" a safety professional. This is a detailed question that required many other inputs and measurements.

There are a few variables to consider - Is the overall hazard / risk management process complex? Does the Safety Professional have a background / familiarity with the industry he / she is working in? I would equate "seasoned" with "qualified" - "being knowledgeable of the work, the hazards involved and the means to control the hazards, by reason of education, training, experience or a combination thereof" - definition in WorkSafeBC OHS Regulation. So, I think it's difficult to attach a number to the question.

I don't think there is an accurate time. I've worked with professionals with 2-3 years experience that could bring as much to the table as highly "experienced" professionals. I've also worked with 20+ year guys that were not effective. I think everyone learns and grows at different rates, and drive and will to learn are the most important factors.

Most safety professionals, unfortunately,become "seasoned" about the time they retire. Most people in the workforce realize this after the retirement and the "new safety professional" starts.

This is a variable situation. Depends on your view of "seasoned" I person who works at a small facility with minimum staffing will not be as seasoned as someone who works in multiple environments with larger staffing will see a lot more situations and gain experience faster. I would agree with approx. 5 years of FIELD time to get a good understanding.

I voted 3-5 based on personal experience. If you work for a large company (over 1 mill man-hours) with a good safety culture and numerous mentors to choose from you can get there in five years. There are many milestones to be seasoned, not just experience.

At least 10 years of experience in the field working with the crafts - all of them, learning what they do and why they do it the way they do it. Helping them develop AHA's and procedures. Desk time writing HASP's in between. That is what I look for in a mid level or entry level Manager of HSE. Education and certifications are great toppers, but the ice cream is the time spent in the field as a safety specialist.

I chose 10-15 years because i believe that the safety professional should have some time in the field.

The best Safety Professionals have time on the job or function they oversee. Formal education cannot replace experience. Most of us learn from the people we teach. If we don't we aren't going to be current and effective.

Given that safety professional should be grounded on theoritical and practical areas of his profession, learning and understanding the concept and how work are bing done is a learning process. 6-10 provides you with the experience with studies covered on your operating field. If you are in chemical industries, you must understand what it takes to advise. If you are in construction, oil and gas or mining, you must have an indepth knowledge of the intrigues around your coverage.

The environment is continually changing around us and as hard as we work at being safe we continue to learn better methods of being safer. There for you are learning all the time and will never get it all down to a perfect art. Yes you may be proficient at your area but there is allot more to it than that.

It takes about 16 to 20 years of well rounded experience to become a seasoned safety professional, in addition to a good education in math, science Engineering or other related fields.

The definition of 'seasoned' is too varied for this poll to be very specific. Seasoned with experiences as a Safety Professional dealing with safety issues, 5-10 year range should have provided numerous chances to learn a wide range of knowledge. Being familiar with the actual daily duties, tasks, pressures and attitudes of their workers and what they deal with from day to day is a foundation that any "Safety Professional" must have to be effective. The respect level of the workers must be earned, active and supported or there will be a vast disconnect between a Safety Professional and those they are trying to help stay safe.